WhenToBird

Melanerpes carolinus · Picidae

When Do Red-bellied Woodpeckers Arrive in South Dakota?

Adult male Red-bellied Woodpecker
Photo: froggymum, CC BY 4.0 via iNaturalist

Red-bellied Woodpeckers are in South Dakota all year, but most are here in winter: numbers build from early October, peak in early December (14% of checklists), and fall back by late February. In the quietest week (early August) they are still on about 3.5% of checklists.

When to look

Numbers buildOct 1-7early October
PeakDec 1-7early December
Fall back byFeb 22-28late February
FewestAug 1-7early August

Best: early December. Here all year; numbers build from early October and fall back by late February. Peak: on about 14% of South Dakota checklists.

  1. Janpeak season
  2. Febpeak season
  3. Marcommon
  4. Aprcommon
  5. Maypeak season
  6. Juncommon
  7. Juluncommon
  8. Auguncommon
  9. Sepcommon
  10. Octpeak season
  11. Novpeak season
  12. Decpeak season

Darker months: more checklists report it. Outlined: peak month.

0%5%10%15%Jan 1-7: 9.9% of 1699 checklistsJan 8-14: 10% of 967 checklistsJan 15-21: 13% of 893 checklistsJan 22-31: 10% of 1338 checklistsFeb 1-7: 11% of 898 checklistsFeb 8-14: 12% of 1013 checklistsFeb 15-21: 11% of 1650 checklistsFeb 22-28: 9.6% of 1011 checklistsMar 1-7: 9.0% of 1304 checklistsMar 8-14: 7.9% of 1447 checklistsMar 15-21: 8.6% of 1524 checklistsMar 22-31: 8.2% of 2850 checklistsApr 1-7: 8.1% of 2170 checklistsApr 8-14: 8.9% of 2259 checklistsApr 15-21: 7.7% of 2578 checklistsApr 22-30: 8.3% of 3858 checklistsMay 1-7: 12% of 3532 checklistsMay 8-14: 11% of 4498 checklistsMay 15-21: 11% of 4211 checklistsMay 22-31: 7.8% of 5094 checklistsJun 1-7: 5.2% of 3279 checklistsJun 8-14: 4.7% of 3503 checklistsJun 15-21: 4.5% of 2861 checklistsJun 22-30: 3.7% of 3893 checklistsJul 1-7: 4.1% of 2666 checklistsJul 8-14: 3.7% of 2554 checklistsJul 15-21: 3.4% of 2412 checklistsJul 22-31: 3.8% of 2746 checklistsAug 1-7: 3.8% of 1842 checklistsAug 8-14: 2.7% of 1899 checklistsAug 15-21: 4.0% of 1757 checklistsAug 22-31: 5.8% of 2464 checklistsSep 1-7: 5.8% of 1894 checklistsSep 8-14: 6.2% of 1794 checklistsSep 15-21: 6.6% of 1671 checklistsSep 22-30: 8.1% of 2085 checklistsOct 1-7: 9.9% of 1429 checklistsOct 8-14: 11% of 1441 checklistsOct 15-21: 11% of 1330 checklistsOct 22-31: 13% of 1471 checklistsNov 1-7: 13% of 1168 checklistsNov 8-14: 11% of 1068 checklistsNov 15-21: 11% of 985 checklistsNov 22-30: 14% of 1108 checklistsDec 1-7: 14% of 890 checklistsDec 8-14: 14% of 957 checklistsDec 15-21: 13% of 1246 checklistsDec 22-31: 13% of 1514 checklistsJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Share of complete checklists reporting it, by week (4 per month). Grey bars: fewer than 10 checklists, not counted.

Frequency is the share of complete checklists in South Dakota that listed the bird, 2016–2025. It is not a head count, and it follows where and when people go birding. How to read it.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
today
Second week of November

Each county is shaded by the share of complete checklists there that listed the bird, blended with the weeks either side. Darker is more often. It follows where people watch birds, not how many birds there are. How to read it.

Embed this map on your site

Where in South Dakota

Best counties

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Roberts CountyBest the second week of December · 37 checklists that week, 3,523 in all74%
  2. Clay CountyBest mid November · 14 checklists that week, 2,633 in all71%
  3. Union CountyBest the second week of November · 10 checklists that week, 882 in all59%
  4. Sanborn CountyBest mid October · 27 checklists that week, 748 in all57%
  5. Davison CountyBest early December · 10 checklists that week, 606 in all54%
  6. Hughes CountyBest late October · 82 checklists that week, 3,765 in all49%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Farm IslandHughes County, best late October · 33 checklists that week, 825 in all86%
  2. Newton Hills (Sargeant Creek)Lincoln County, best late May · 20 checklists that week, 173 in all82%
  3. Blood Run National Historic Landmark Area Tcf TractLincoln County, best late April · 21 checklists that week, 646 in all80%
  4. PerryMinnehaha County, best mid May · 28 checklists that week, 215 in all80%
  5. Cotton ParkClay County, best late May · 20 checklists that week, 223 in all73%
  6. Union GroveUnion County, best the second week of May · 25 checklists that week, 168 in all61%

Busy spots report more of everything; compare the checklist counts before you drive anywhere.

Best time of day

In South Dakota, the Red-bellied Woodpecker is most often listed on checklists started between 7 and 9 am (13% of those checklists).

0%5%10%15%12 am: too few checklists (49) to judge1 am: too few checklists (44) to judge2 am: too few checklists (33) to judge3 am: too few checklists (59) to judge4 am: too few checklists (227) to judge5 am: too few checklists (1080) to judge6 am: 8.2% of 3387 checklists7 am: 10% of 7718 checklists8 am: 14% of 10342 checklists9 am: 11% of 10758 checklists10 am: 8.9% of 9123 checklists11 am: 8.1% of 7814 checklists12 pm: 7.4% of 6876 checklists1 pm: 6.9% of 6801 checklists2 pm: 6.1% of 6673 checklists3 pm: 5.6% of 6344 checklists4 pm: 5.4% of 6412 checklists5 pm: 5.3% of 5570 checklists6 pm: 4.4% of 4276 checklists7 pm: 3.3% of 3183 checklists8 pm: too few checklists (1499) to judge9 pm: too few checklists (329) to judge10 pm: too few checklists (82) to judge11 pm: too few checklists (42) to judge12a3a6a9a12p3p6p9p
Share of checklists started in each local hour that reported it. It reflects when people go birding as well as when birds are active. Grey hours have too few checklists (under 2% of the state’s, or under 200) to judge.
Week-by-week table
MonthDays 1-78-1415-2122-end
January9.9%10%13%10%
February11%12%11%9.6%
March9.0%7.9%8.6%8.2%
April8.1%8.9%7.7%8.3%
May12%11%11%7.8%
June5.2%4.7%4.5%3.7%
July4.1%3.7%3.4%3.8%
August3.8%2.7%4.0%5.8%
September5.8%6.2%6.6%8.1%
October9.9%11%11%13%
November13%11%11%14%
December14%14%13%13%

Neighboring states

  • Nebraska: arrives early September, 4 weeks earlier than South Dakota
  • North Dakota: arrives late August, 5 weeks earlier than South Dakota
  • Minnesota: year-round, peaks the second week of May
  • Iowa: year-round, peaks mid September

Common questions

When do Red-bellied Woodpeckers arrive in South Dakota?
Red-bellied Woodpeckers are in South Dakota all year, but most are here in winter: numbers build from early October, peak in early December (14% of checklists), and fall back by late February. In the quietest week (early August) they are still on about 3.5% of checklists.
When do Red-bellied Woodpeckers leave South Dakota?
Red-bellied Woodpeckers never fully leave South Dakota: numbers fall back below half their usual rate by late February, but some are still reported in every week, about 3.5% of checklists at the low.
When is the best time to see a Red-bellied Woodpecker in South Dakota?
The Red-bellied Woodpecker is reported most often in early December, on about 14% of South Dakota checklists.
Where in South Dakota are Red-bellied Woodpeckers seen most often?
By county, Roberts County, Clay County, and Union County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Red-bellied Woodpecker (counties with at least 200 checklists).